This application for patent is based on Japan patent application Nos. 2002-19172 and 2003-14084, the contents of which are taken in as references.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an overcoating device for overcoating an image face of a recorded material on which an image is formed according to an ink jet method with a protective layer for protecting the image and an ink jet record apparatus having the overcoating device.
2. Description of Related Arts
The ink jet method is a record method of ejecting ink droplets from a nozzle of a record head (ink jet head) and depositing the ink droplets on a record medium of paper, etc., for forming an image. With the recent innovative development of the ink jet record technology, the image quality has reached a high level equivalent to a film photo, but the real image solidity is inferior to that of a film photo. In recent years, improvement in the image solidity has become increasingly valued with expansion of the ink jet record technology to digital photo service, commercial print application, etc.
Known as a record technique capable of enhancing image solidity, gloss, etc., is a thermal transfer overcoating treatment of thermally transferring a transparent film of an image protection film (transfer sheet) having the transparent film on a support onto an image face formed with an image, thereby coating the image with the transparent film (protective layer). Attention is also focused on the thermal transfer overcoating treatment in the ink jet record field as a technique having the potential for accomplishing high image quality and high image solidity equivalent to a film photo, and various improvement techniques concerning the material, composition, formation method, etc., of the protective layer are proposed (for example, JP-A-60-189486, JP-A-2000-52637, and JP-A-2000-233474). JP-A-2000-153677 discloses an ink jet printer including a transfer unit for forming a protective layer for forming a protective layer on an ink jet image face by the transfer unit.
However, to perform the above-described thermal transfer overcoating treatment after ink jet record, a film transfer unit becomes necessary aside from the units required for ink jet record, such as a record head, and therefore there is a problem of dramatically increasing the print cost.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an overcoating device capable of efficiently applying an overcoating treatment to an image face of a recorded material formed with an image according to an ink jet method and providing a recorded material having high image quality and high image solidity comparative to a film photo at low cost and an ink jet record apparatus including the overcoating device.
To the end, according to the invention, there is provided an overcoating device for transporting a plurality of recorded materials formed with images according to an ink jet method in parallel with spacing and overcoating each of image faces of the recorded materials with a protective layer for protecting the image, the overcoating device including a transfer sheet supply unit for supplying a transfer sheet having a transferred layer having a width capable of covering the recorded materials on a support onto the recorded materials transported in parallel with the spacing so as to cover the image faces of the recorded materials; a heating and pressing unit for heating and pressing the recorded materials and the transfer sheet; and a stripping unit for stripping the support from the transfer sheet after heating and pressing, wherein the heating and pressing unit includes a pair of pressing members for allowing the recorded materials and the transfer sheet to pass through a nip part between the paired pressing members and when the recorded materials and the transfer sheet pass through the nip part, the portion of the transferred layer of the transfer sheet corresponding to the spacing does not come in contact with the pressing member coming in contact with the recorded materials, of the pressing member pair.
According to the invention, there is provided an ink jet record apparatus including the above-described overcoating device, wherein a plurality of record media are transported in parallel with spacing and ink is ejected from a plurality of record heads for forming images on the plurality of record media to prepare recorded materials, and then the overcoating device overcoats each of image faces of the recorded materials with a protective layer for protecting the image. That is, the ink jet record apparatus of the invention includes an ink jet record section for transporting a plurality of record media in parallel with spacing and ejecting ink from a plurality of record heads for forming images on the record media and a protective layer formation section for simultaneously forming protective layers on the images; the protective layer formation section is implemented as the above-described coater.
According to the overcoating device of the invention, a plurality of recorded materials are transported in parallel with spacing and at the heating and pressing treatment time, the transferred layer of the transfer sheet does not come in contact with the pressing member of a roller, etc., so that an overcoating treatment can be applied collectively to the recorded materials without depositing the transferred layer on the surface of the pressing member, and the recorded materials each with a protective layer having high image quality and high image solidity comparative to a film photo can be manufactured efficiently at low cost. Since the transferred layer is not deposited on the surface of the pressing member after the heating and pressing treatment, the overcoating device of the invention can lighten cleaning work of the surface of the pressing member, etc., and is excellent in maintainability. The ink jet record apparatus of the invention can manufacture the recorded materials each with the protective layer in one pass, so that the manufacturing work becomes still more efficient.